Drinking Water can Lower Stress

You read that right. Could it really be that easy? Well the research is clear that water is a blessing we don’t want to live without. All of the organs and functions of our body need an adequate supply of water to work most effectively.

“Studies have shown that being just a half a liter dehydrated can increase your cortisol levels”, according to Registered Dietician, Amanda Carlson, the director of performance nutrition at Athletes’ Performance, and a trainer of world class athletes.

“Cortisol is one of those stress hormones. Staying in a good hydrated status can keep your stress levels down. When you don’t give your body the fluids it needs, you’re putting stress on it, and it’s going to respond to that,” says Carlson.

“You’re actually likely to get more dehydrated when you’re under stress, because your heart rate is up and you’re breathing more heavily, so you’re losing fluid,” says Renee Melton, MS, RD, LD, director of nutrition for Sensei, a developer of online and mobile weight loss and nutrition programs. “And during times of stress, you’re more likely to forget to drink and eat well. Just getting enough fluids helps to keep you at your best during times like these.”

Stress can cause dehydration, and dehydration,can cause stress. It’s a vicious cycle. You can break it by building more water consumption into your day. “Stress can result in many of the same responses as dehydration — increased heart rate, nausea, fatigue, headache– so if you can remain hydrated you can reduce the magnitude of the physiological responses we have to stress,” says Trent Nessler, PT, DPT, MPT, managing director of Baptist Sports Medicine in Nashville.Source: Water and Stress Reduction: Sipping Stress Away. By Gina Shaw. http://www.webmd.com

I completely agree with this. I can always tell if I haven’t drank enough water during the day or if I need to drink more water that day than usual. I also feel like it helps my skin to look clearer too!